BS tire pressure accuracy!

[Tigger]

I keep my tires at 10% below max PSI. That allows for increases once the tire gets warm running on highways. I have found that this also provides longer wear mileage. If I lived where the snow flies, I'd drop normal operating pressure to 20% below max. for traction in the snow.

I’ve been reading a lot of threads on tire pressure and I decided to respond to this post in this thread instead of starting a new one.

My tire pressure on my Heritage Limited was reading 41 when cold and up to 44 after driving a bit. But after reading threads and seeing the door jam say 33psi, I took it to Tire Discount. The guy said he has the same Wildpeak A/T’s and he recommends 40. When I questioned the 33 door jam he walked me to my vehicle and showed me where the max on the tire says 51 psi, and that you should not do max but low 40’s is what he says is best. Further, 33 is too low. So I have been doing that but still curios in the back of my mind.

Then, I got the 1.25” spacers installed at a different, local tire shop. When done, I asked them to check tire pressure and they reported all at 41 or 42 and then he called that perfect. Once again I asked about the door jam saying 33 and was told to ignore that for these 51 psi max tires.

So, sorry for such a long post but it seems this info is different than what some of you are saying tire pressure should be.

And in the spirit of this thread, the psi on my screen is right on with mechanics.

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[Outback Texan]

Ask yourself WHY auto manufacturers recommend a specific tire pressure!

According to Perelli... It isn’t advisable to fill your tires much above vehicle recommendations for everyday driving. At higher PSI, your car does not handle as well, braking is impaired, and you could risk dangerous blowouts. Over-inflation can also cause the center of your tire’s tread to wear out prematurely and reduce the lifespan of your tires. You may want to use pressure, closer to max on a temporary basis if you are hauling especially heavy load or towing something.

 

[Dude]

In the spirit of providing other thoughts on tire psi in terms of what’s on the tire vs. what is stated in the door jam there is this post:

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/hello-from-falken-tires.4072/page-2

 

[Tigger]

Ask yourself WHY auto manufacturers recommend a specific tire pressure!

Hence the reason for my long post.

And I see you added to your post, so I’ll add here. As for handling, I love it right now. As for the wear and tear comment, that is why both tire places said do not ever run on the max 51 psi but they recommend about 40-42.

In the spirit of providing other thoughts on tire psi in terms of what’s on the tire vs. what is stated in the door jam there is this post:

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/hello-from-falken-tires.4072/page-2

Yes, this is one of the many threads I read. Hence my comment that the 40 on a 51 psi tire does not coincide with many that say 33.

The expert did state his answer interestingly to say Ford recommends 33 and go ahead and do that but he did not say that is his recommendation.

edit: I tried to do an @ for FalkenQA or @ the Tire Discount so they could see this thread and explain why others are suggesting 40 psi, but alas, I cannot figure out how to do that

 

[RSH]

Most people don't pay attention to tire pressure, people cannot tell if a tire is 5 to 10 psi under inflated, or if its over inflated unless grossly so.
TPMS systems have helped, even then, some people don't actually do anything until the pressure warning is displayed.
If you initially set your tire pressure with a quality air pressure gage and then use the BS TPMS to keep track of the pressure you'll be much more informed of what's going on with your tires and know when attention is needed.

 

[Tigger]

So I decided to go to Ford today to discuss tire pressure. I was talking with the first guy and he said wait, let me get the tire expert. Three guys joined the conversation but they listened to the one guy they all deemed the tire expert. He said:
- use 33 psi if doing anything off-road-ish and that includes lose gravel (and obviously lower for things like sand, etc)
- keep with 80% max psi rule, or slightly lower, for city and highway driving; thus, he said he’d run at 38 if it was his vehicle; especially in this cold and maybe down to 36 on hot days
- if I like the low 40’s, then can keep it there, especially in the cold; above 90% max over time will poorly effect the tires wear so he’d recommend not going above 45 psi

So, after recommendations of 38 from Ford, and 40 from Tire Discount and my local tire store, I am running at 39 psi in this cold and will drop a couple as it gets warmer. Similarly, I’ll drop to 33 when I go to Badlands Park in Indiana.

 

[Dude]

Hence the reason for my long post.

And I see you added to your post, so I’ll add here. As for handling, I love it right now. As for the wear and tear comment, that is why both tire places said do not ever run on the max 51 psi but they recommend about 40-42.


Yes, this is one of the many threads I read. Hence my comment that the 40 on a 51 psi tire does not coincide with many that say 33.

The expert did state his answer interestingly to say Ford recommends 33 and go ahead and do that but he did not say that is his recommendation.

edit: I tried to do an @ for FalkenQA or @ the Tire Discount so they could see this thread and explain why others are suggesting 40 psi, but alas, I cannot figure out how to do that

@Tigger … if you want Falkan QA to be notified on your message, in the body of your message start typing @Falken QA into your message and after typing in a few of those characters you will see the popup for Falkan QA so stop typing and select the popup for Falkan QA which will insert them into your post. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Tigger]

@Falken QA
@Discount Tire

Thanks @Dude ! Teaching old guys is a blessing I need.

 

[RSH]

I find it interesting that the Ford recommended tire pressure for the BS is 33psi for all tire sizes.
Yet going up 1 tire size for example from the optional factory 235/65R/17 tires to 245/65R/17 tires has some people wanting to run 40psi or worse the max psi the tire is rated for.
While those tire pressure's may help with mpg, I believe overall ride quality will suffer and also exhibit uneven tire wear.
I have 245/65R/17's on my Badlands running 33psi for almost 20k miles and have decent ride, handling, wear and mpg. When I purchased my 245/65R/17's tires I thought I made a huge mistake, the BS was bouncing off bumps and would send a shudder through the body when hitting pot holes, it was nothing like the stock tire ride. I was thinking what is wrong here, I checked the tire pressure of my newly installed tires and they were all in the 40psi range, I lowered the tire pressure to 33psi and the ride was good again.
In the end, I'm doing what works for me.

 

[Tigger]

I find it interesting that the Ford recommended tire pressure for the BS is 33psi for all tire sizes.
Yet going up 1 tire size for example from the optional factory 235/65R/17 tires to 245/65R/17 tires has some people wanting to run 40psi or worse the max psi the tire is rated for.
While those tire pressure's may help with mpg, I believe overall ride quality will suffer and also exhibit uneven tire wear.

No one has said to run at max psi and everyone has agreed that would lead to poor experience in the ride and in the wear of the tire. If you read this thread, 80% has been a common recommendation, as an alternative to 33 psi.

But yes, if you like 33psi, no problem. But if you like 80%, also no problem. Neither is hurting anything was my conclusion from this thread and talking to the three tire guys in my town (Ford, Discount Tire, local guy).

 

[RSH]

No one has said to run at max psi and everyone has agreed that would lead to poor experience in the ride and in the wear of the tire.

Ageed, I also have never recommended or suggested for anyone to run a tire at max psi.
Lots of post's on this board and other boards have the same discussions about what tire pressure to run.
Some do think that the max psi that is molded on the tire is what they should run to get maximum performance out of their tires.

 

[Mark S.]

Tiresize.com has a tire pressure calculator. You input the OEM tire size/type/pressure, then input the proposed tire size/type. The calculator offers a pressure for the new tire to preserve the vehicle's load rating.

https://tiresize.com/pressure-calculator/

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